The FOO Series
by Kaia Mariacle
Summary: AU; A story about growing up, overcoming obstacles, and most importantly-falling in love. *warning: slash*
1. Deja Vu

Deja Vu

Author: Kaia Mariacle

Disclaimer: Not mine, but boy, I wish they were.

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Colin/Ephram

Summary: Futurefic; A boy in love.  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
When he looks at me, it's like the lights dim.  
  
And I can't believe that I'm quoting Buffy The Vampire Slayer.   
  
You see, this is what love does to you. It makes you stupid and silly. It makes you have these thoughts, and of course you ignore them until they're so strong there about to burst out at the most inopportune moments.   
  
Like, say when you're laughing with his girlfriend over pizza at the local diner.  
  
And he walks in, no....no....he struts in, so uncharacteristically, and saunters over to where you're sitting and throws a pair of concert tickets down on the table.  
  
You look down and the words FOO FIGHTERS jump out at you. They're your favorite band, and they're for next week.   
  
And there are only two of them.  
  
He just stands there arms crossed, completely oblivious that his girlfriend is sitting across from you, and he gives you this wonderful grin. So bright and beautiful, and he says:  
  
"Happy birthday."   
  
Then he plops down next to you, throws an arm around your shoulder, and finally notices his girlfriend. He says, "Oh, hey" steals a fry from your plate, and looks over at you to see your reaction to his gift.   
  
That's when you know you're in love with him.   
  
What you do next is definitely not your fault, it's really not.   
  
You avoid him until the night of the concert. When he walks one way, you make sure your walking the other. When he tries to seek you out, you're lucky you know him the way you do, and you manage not to go run into him.   
  
It's not your fault that he's so hurt and angry, and wondering just why his best friend doesn't want to hang out with him anymore.   
  
Except....it kind of is.   
  
You always knew that there was something more there that you couldn't explain. You just couldn't handle it on top of everything else, so you pushed it to the back of your mind, and you ignored it until it took on a life of it's own.   
  
You always knew why you couldn't stand to see him with her. Why you spent hours watching him sleep. Why you could never seem to stop touching him -a casual brush of the arm, a leg pressed against his, an arm around his shoulder.  


So on the night of the concert, you're sure he's not going to come, that he's going to take her instead. Even though they're your favorite band, and your birthday present.  
  
But you throw on a some clothes -just in case- and you sit in front of the television with the sound muted, and you wait for the familiar rings of the doorbell.   
  
Several hours pass, and if he was planning on coming over, he would have been here by now. So you flick off CSI, and you sigh.  
  
And the doorbell rings.  
  
You're afraid to hope, but can't seem to rid yourself of the knot of tension building inside your stomach. Because you know it's him at the door, and you know he's going to have that angry, miserable look in his eyes.   
  
But when you open the door, you don't find the unrequited love of your life.   
  
You find a girl, crying and shaking, with a horrible, haunted look in her eyes.   
  
"Something's....something's...happened," she says, and you know it has to do with him. You pull her inside, and you hug her, and you ask her what's wrong.   
  
She sobs against your chest, sputtering words, before she calms down enough to tell you something coherent.  
  
She tells you that he was so angry at you, so depressed, but he needed to know what was wrong, if he'd done something to hurt you. She tells you that he said he needed a little courage.  
  
She sobs that he raided his dad's liquor cabinet and he stole the jeep, that he told her he was going to see you. To get his best friend back.  
  
She tells you that the semi didn't even see him coming.   
  
~~~~~~~  
  
You're standing here, staring through a pane of glass.  
  
Dr. Brown's beside you, but you can't seem to find any words to comfort him, so you reach over and place a trembling hand on his arm. That's all it takes for him to break down, and you watch numbly as a nurse helps him into a nearby chair.   
  
You turn back to the glass, the clear wall that is separating you from a boy on a bed, with various tubes hooked up to him.  
  
He can't breathe on his own.  
  
You wonder if this is how Amy felt, how she feels.   
  
This is the second boyfriend she's lost to a coma.   
  
As you stare at the bandages wrapped around his head, at the pasty color of his skin, at the eery stillness inside the room, you tell yourself that this is your fault.  
  
You can't help but think that if you hadn't avoided him, that if you'd just told him what was going on, if you'd been a best friend.  
  
If, if, if.   
  
All these if's floating around in your mind are making you crazy, but you can't stop them.  
  
You watch Ephram, laying on the bed, chest moving with the help of machines, and you cry.  
  
Fate has a sick sense of humor, because there's the guy you love, in the same place you were three years ago.   
  
This isn't your fault, you tell yourself.   


You didn't know you were in love with him.  
  
Except you did.  
  
And now he's here.   
  
You can only pray that he remembers you when he wakes up.  
  
And he will, you tell yourself.  
  
He will.  
  
  
~Finis~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Halo

Okay, so it goes like this:  
  
Your mom dies. You're dad goes insane. You move to a small town named Everwood.  
  
Your life seems to be over.   
  
You meet a girl - Amy. You fall for her. Said girl is already in love with someone else. Someone else is a little hard to steal her from, because he's in a coma.   
  
Amy uses you, and you're angry with her, but still in love.  
  
You and she become friends.   
  
Fast forward a few weeks.   
  
Coma-boy wakes up, Amy decides she doesn't need you anymore, even though the love of her life can't remember her name. You're still in love, and then you meet coma-boy.  
  
His name is Colin.  
  
Colin can't even remember his own name half the time, but you watch as everyone, especially the girl who supposedly loves him, tries to mold him into the boy he used to be.   
  
Everyone but you.   
  
Colin and Amy grow distant.   
  
You and he talk a lot, and he seems to think you're this great guy, and you feel guilty because you're in love with his girlfriend.  
  
Then she breaks up with Colin, and asks you out.   
  
The funny thing is, you and Colin have kind of become, well.......friends. So you feel like you'd be crossing that thin line of friendship.  
  
Except your dream has finally come true, so you decide to say yes -but only with his blessing.  
  
You try to ignore the pain in his eyes when he laughs softly and tells you it's cool. You push it back because you're getting something you've been yearning for, for what seems like forever.   
  
So you and Amy start dating, and you and Colin get closer.   
  
Another few months and you and he are best friends.   


You're still dating her a year and a half later.   
  
Everything starts to crumble one day, when you decide to do something you think is pretty cool.  
  
You buy your best friend concert tickets for his birthday. You think that you're pretty lucky you're into the same music. You think you're pretty lucky to have a best friend like him.  
  
Then your luck runs out.   
  
You don't know what you've done wrong, because he was so happy when you gave him his present. And he smiled so widely in the diner, and touched you so.....gently, when he left.  
  
It's a week later, and he's been avoiding you, and you have to do something.  
Over the past week you've set a new brooding record, and you've gotten into what seems like a million fights with your girlfriend.  
  
Everyone is mad at you.   
  
Your dad, because...well.....he's your dad.   
  
Amy is angry with you, and you're not quite sure why, but there's a tiny inkling in the back of your head. You think it might have something to do with the way she's started to refer to Colin as 'the other woman.' And how she says you're acting like a lost, little schoolgirl waiting for the big-man-on-campus to phone you.  
  
You're starting to wonder what you saw in her in the first place.  
  
And Colin.   
  
The one person you can really talk to, who you can share your dreams with. The one person who understands you and accepts you the way you are.  
  
Amy comes over while you're raiding you're dad's liquor cabinet, and asks you what you think you're doing.  
  
You tell her that you have to find out what's wrong with Colin, if you'd done something to hurt him. But you need a little help.  
  
A little liquid courage.  
  
So you grab a few bottles, and you're not sure what you're drinking but you're in a hurry.  
  
You swipe your dad's keys off the table, and run outside, there's a little voice telling you not to get in, because you just drank a lot of alcohol, and you may not feel drunk, but you will soon.  
  
You ignore it.  
  
A tiny voice inside you is screaming to go to Colin, and you nod in agreement, because you need him right now.   
  
You get in, pull the seat forward, start the engine, and back out of the drive slowly.  
  
Amy's still screaming in the background, but she's become a low buzz, and you can't quite make out what she's saying.  
  
Colin's grin flashes brightly in front of you as you make your way down the street, and you're so busy rehearsing what you're going to say to him that you don't even see the truck in front of you.  
  
Everything stills.  
  
You're body seems to be moving, but you can't feel anything.  
  
You can only see the jade of your best friend's eyes as the world goes black.  
  
  
~Finis~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. MIA

MIA

Author: Kaia Mariacle

Disclaimer: They're not mine, but a girl can dream.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: A boy in need. Futurefic. (Sequel to Halo)  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
They say that sometimes when you sleep, you dream.  
  
A coma is something like a dream, you think. A place where you can hide, get away from everything, and not have to deal with the people around you.  
  
That night, after sitting by his bedside for hours, Delia's arms wrapped around your middle, Dr. Brown's arm against your shoulder, and Amy across the way, you think that Ephram must be dreaming  
  
His eyelids are always moving, and sometimes, if you pretend hard enough, his body shifts slightly.  
  
You never told anyone that when you were in you're coma, you dreamt.  
  
Splashes of brown and ivory, tinny voices in your ear, and a loud, bright sky. To this day you can't stand the beeping of your alarm clock, because in your dreams, you always heard a low throbbing pulse of sound.  
  
The doctors have told you that you should talk to Ephram, that everyone should talk to him, because he can hear what you're saying, and it might help.  
  
You want to tell him that you don't know why, because Amy told you she always talked when you were in your coma, and you don't remember it at all. You want to scream at all them all, tell them that nothing they can do will help, because what good did it do you?  
  
But you don't, because you're just a boy, just a best friend, and you wouldn't know anything about comas.  
  
Nothing at all.  
  
It's been seven months, and you're afraid that he's never going to wake up.  
  
That he's never going to explain certain manga's to you, or force you to listen to that new mp3 he just downloaded. Or yell at you for watching a basketball game when you could be outside, staring at the stars. That he's never going to tell you any more secrets, secrets that only you and he share.  
  
Then you feel guilty  
  
You're also afraid that he's going to wake up.  
  
Wake up and look at you with blank eyes, like you're not the one who helped him paint his room grey, or sat and listened as he played the piano for hours on end every Sunday. Not the one he had anime-fests with every second Friday of the month, or the one he kidnaped on a two-week road trip to New York last summer.  
  
Like you're not his best friend.  
  
You sometimes wish that you could just walk away. Just walk away, and never look back at Everwood, or Ephram, but you love him, and you know you'll never leave him, not even if he's still this way when you're twenty, or thirty, or a hundred.  
  
Delia groans lightly from your lap, blinks up at you with those beautiful eyes, so like Ephram's, and asks you if he's going to wake up. If she's ever going to get her brother back.   
You have to close your eyes, you have to press your lids down tightly, and you have to lie.  
  
Yes, you tell her.   
  
Yes, he's going to wake up any day now, because Ephram's a fighter, and he wouldn't leave us this way.  
  
You hear Dr. Brown's choked voice as he tells you he's going to get more coffee. Delia follows him, weeping quietly.  
  
You stare across the bed at Amy, almost surprised to still see her in the room, because she's not part of the routine.   
  
The routine that has become your life.  
  
Every day, you go to school, and you somehow manage to get through the day without Ephram's beautiful smirk and caustic comments. Every day you sit through each class, and pretend that he's sitting behind you, poking you in the back with his pencil, and commenting on how utterly detestable Kayla's looking today.  
  
When school is over, you hop on the bus, and you make it to the hospital in just under two hours. Dr. Brown and Delia are always waiting for you at the entrance, trying to smile. You try to smile back, and all three of you walk to Ephram's room.  
  
There are three chairs in the room, but Dr. Brown always takes the left, sits down and grabs hold of Ephram's hand. You take the right chair, and help Delia into your lap, where she crumbles, tired, and falls asleep.  
  
While Delia sleeps, you and Dr. Brown talk to Ephram about everything and nothing.   
  
Delia sleeps for an hour, and when she stirs, she asks you if he's going to wake up, if she's going to get her brother back.  
  
And just like today, you lie.  
  
For some reason, it always manages to catch Dr. Brown off guard, and they both leave the room.  
  
You get 13 minutes alone with Ephram, and for every minute of those thirteen a chant runs through your head.  
  
*Wake up, wake up, wake up.*  
  
And you take hold of his hand, and you whisper in his ear that you love him, and you promise him you'll be waiting when he wakes up.  
  
But you can't do that today, because Amy's here. For the first time in six months, Amy's here.  
  
I'm sorry, she said earlier.   
  
Dr. Brown just looked at her, and sighed, and told her it was okay.   
  
You wish he'd told her to leave instead.  
  
Because all she's doing is staring at you, and telling you that this is the first, last and only time she's going to come and visit.  
  
He never belonged to me, she says, he was never mine.  
  
You don't comprehend it until she's out the door, the click of metal and wood loud in the still room.  
  
You don't comprehend it, because you're staring up at Ephram.  
  
And he's staring back.  
  
  
~Finis~


	4. Disenchanted Lullabye

Disenchanted Lullabye

Author: Kaia Mariacle

Disclaimer: Not mine. At all. Too bad, so sad.....for me, that is.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: A boy lost; futurefic.(sequel to MIA)

Author's Notes: This son-of-a-bitch would not write! I tried and tried, and tried some more, but the bunny bit my ass and let go, and bit my ass, and let go......and so on. Ephram and Colin were like, "Do something, we're bored just standing here, we want smoochies." I was like, "Sorry guys, no smoochies yet, actually, no anything yet!" But the bunny finally bit and hung on, and I finally got this part done. Thank. You. God. (exaggerated sigh)

Dedicated to: All the other Everwood slashers who are desperately in need of something to read. I know that I check my inbox every day, but alas, the fics are few and far between. Good thing that when a new one does come out, it's of a very high quality.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You're floating.  
  
Notes stream by, full of sharp tones and textures. The bright, bursting clinks of a piano whizzing to and fro, sparking against your fingers, your lips.  
  
They seem to leave a trail of color. The brightest a piercing green, more subtle are a hopeful shade of teal, and the unearthly wisdom of hazel. Streams of pale gold trickle across your nose, and you sneeze. Wisps of chocolate sweep broadly around your neck, and you giggle.  
  
You seem to be standing still, and at the same time moving beyond.  
  
When the colors stop, you feel shadows wrapping around your waist, almost embracing you, and you sigh, and can nearly feel the strong muscles, the tender grip.  
  
But those times are fleeting because the music starts all over, and the colors blind you once more.   
  
Sometimes though, the colors are so dazzling and the music so grand that you fall and hears whispers of voices. Low and breathy and joyless.  
  
And so desperate that it drowns out everything else, and you have to hold your head and wait for the tears to stop.  
  
The whispers are familiar and you want oh so much to answer, but you can't.  
  
The music is too beautiful, and the colors so brilliant.  
  
You never want to leave, but one day in this paradise, everything is silent, everything is muted.  
  
Everything is dead.  
  
And the whispers are much louder, so loud that you scream.  
  
So loud that the tears stop, and you weep dryly, and you open your mouth, and try to speak, but nothing comes out.  
  
Because you don't know how.  
  
The whispers are now horrifying echoes, surrounding you, and you're screaming for them to stop. Mouthing the words, your face a silent picture of agony.  
  
The whispers stop, and you wait for the colors to whirl around, but your soon encompassed by endless white. Swirling and blinding.  


You can't see anything, and then you open your eyes.   
  
And you see colors, you're surrounded by them.  
  
They're harsh and painful to look at, and then you notice that there's someone looking at you, and you turn your head, and look down.  
  
Gratefully, happily, wondrously, into piercing green.  
  
The music surrounds you once more, but the colors don't twirl wildy, squeezing your waist tightly.   
  
They're contained in a face that skirts on the edge of your mind.  
  
Then, all of a sudden, the green is gone. Your favorite color is gone, and the music stops.   
  
You're laying alone, in a hospital bed, you finally realize. You look around, as if for the first time, and you peer out the window, blearily wondering why there's a mountain outside your window.  
  
You didn't know there were mountains in Manhattan.  
  
A door slams open loudly to your left, and you move your head, despite the excruciating ache inside it.  
  
Your dad stands there, hands shaking, tears streaming down his face. Delia is next to him, looking up at you, and you frown.  
  
Because when did she get so tall?  
  
The boy with the piercing green eyes is back, and he's got a hand resting gently on your sister's shoulder. He's gazing at you in wonder and hopelessness.   
  
You turn your eyes away from him, and try to smile at your sister, but it comes out as more of a grimace. Your father blinks, hesitating as he steps closer.  
  
"Ephram...are....how do you....feel?"  
  
You don't know what he means, and you don't know why his eyes are filled with relief and why they look so old.  
  
A little voice in the back of your head is whispering that he looks strange, because it's only been three days since you've seen him, and he couldn't have grown such a thick beard in so short a time.  
  
You blink at him in confusion, and look back down at your sister.  
  
"Are you....really awake, Ephram?"  
  
You stare at her.  
  
You stare at your dad.  
  
You open your mouth, and you finally speak.  
  
"Dad, where's mom?"  


~Finis~  
  



	5. Come Back

Come Back

Author: Kaia Mariacle

Disclaimer: Not mine. At all. No matter what the voices in my head tell me.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: A boy gone. (sequel to Disenchanted Lullabye)

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Oh God.  
  
It's like you're seeing yourself, except it's worse. This is the boy you love, this is your best friend, and that makes it so much harder.  
  
You watch Dr. Brown's eyes go wide, you watch as his face crumbles.   
  
Then you watch him smile, and you tremble.  
  
It's the same smile your parents gave you when you first woke up. The same smile they sometimes give you, when you ask them a question they think you should already know the answer to.  
  
He walks over to his son, and places a hand on his arm.   
  
"Ephram........you've been in an accident, the doctor will be here in a few minutes, and then we can talk."   
  
You see the look that Ephram gives him, lost and innocent, and you flinch.  
  
"Dad...I.....where am I?"   
  
Dr. Brown pushes a lock of hair away from Ephram's forehead, and leans down. "Everything will be okay. Don't worry, we'll fix this. You'll be alright, and everything will be fine."   
  
He's babbling.   
  
The most composed, brilliant man you've ever met is babbling senselessly. And it scares the shit out of you.   
  
"Dr. Brown," you whisper, moving to gently tug at his arm. "Why don't we go get some coffee?"   
  
He stares at you, broken. You quickly pull him away, because you know that if he spends one more moment in there he'll break down.  
  
You get him into a chair, then you remember that Delia's still in the room.   
  
Alone. With a brother that's been gone for seven months. A brother she's been needing and wanting and wishing for. She's only eleven years old, how can she deal with this when the man she looks up to more than anyone is shattering right in front of her?  
  
You enter the room to find her sobbing on the floor, Ephram looking on helplessly. He's trying to get out of the bed, trying to pull the tubes out, and you gently push him back down.   
  
You fix his blanket. Wish you could fix his family just as easily.  
  
"What are you doing?" He shouts hoarsely. "Who are you?"   
You can't listen to him, because then you'd have to remember that he doesn't know who you are.   
  
"Just a friend." You whisper, helping Delia off the floor. "Just a friend." You repeat as she collapses in your arms, clutching you like a lifeline.  
  
"Where's my mom?" He whimpers softly, and you hear the tears he's desperately trying to hold back. "I want my mom."   
  
"Please," you beg. "Please, just wait for the doctor."   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Dr. Brown....." the physician looks at the stricken man, looks at you. "I'm sure you understand that your son has suffered severe head trauma. You knew of the possibility that he might have some form of amnesia."   
  
"He's just disoriented." Dr. Brown whispers. "Just disoriented, he'll remember in a few hours."   
  
The physician puts a hand on his shoulder. " Dr. Brown...Andy, your son has a severe case of retrograde amnesia. He can't remember the past four years of his life." He stares into Dr. Brown's eyes. "This is a very rare, and it cannot be taken lightly."   
  
"He asked for his mother." Dr. Brown murmurs. "He asked for his dead mother."   
  
"He doesn't know his mother is dead, Andy."   
  
"Oh God."   
  
Three heads snap around, and everyone stares at Ephram. His face is white, and his hands are shaking as he falls forward.   
  
You run, stumble, and catch him before he hits the floor.   
  
"I just wanted to use the bathroom." He whimpers, tears streaming down his face.  
  
Then he passes out in your arms.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Why?" Dr. Brown looks at his sleeping son, but the question is for you. "Why did this happen?"   
  
You shake your head, and choke back tears, trying to find something reassuring to say. Some answer that's acceptable.   
  
"Did I do something wrong?" he whispers. "I tried so hard...so hard to be a good father. I moved so we could begin a new life. Have a fresh start. All I wanted was for him to be happy."  
  
"Dr. Brown-"  
  
He doesn't seem to hear you. "He's been so happy these past few years." He lets out a watery chuckle. "We have great talks, and he doesn't hate me anymore."   
  
"I don't think-"  
  
"All I wanted was to be a good father. Just a good father." He finishes, turning and moving blindly towards the door. He mumbles the word "coffee" as he leaves the room.   
  
You sit down in Dr. Brown's chair, and take hold of Ephram's hand.   
  
"Where did my dad go?"   
  


You start at the sound of his voice, and look up at him. He rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his free hand, and doesn't seem to notice you're gripping the other tightly.  
  
You don't let go.  
  
"He went to get some coffee," you answer. "He'll be back in a few minutes." You watch as he attempts a smile, feel his hand tighten around yours.   
  
"What happened to me?" He asks.   
  
You shake your head, "I'm...I'm not supposed to tell you anything."   
  
"Please-"  
  
"Doctor's orders." You murmur.  
  
"Please." He whispers. "Can you just...I mean...is my mother really...." He pauses, struggling with the word, "....dead?"   
  
A shiver runs down your spine. You shouldn't answer him, you know you're not supposed to, but you can remember what it's like to be where he is. In that place where no one will tell you anything, afraid that even the smallest truth will break you.   
  
Something forces the word out of you. "Yes." You tell him, looking into those deep, sad eyes. "Yes, she's dead."   
  
He shudders, and you feel his hand pull away from yours.   
  
"Can you....can you get my dad?"   
  
You nod, standing up, careful not to jostle his bed. You move towards the door slowly, hand reaching for the knob.  
  
"Colin?"  
  
You turn back, and he gazes at you, almost hopefully.  
  
"Thank you." He says, and you smile softly at him before making your way out of the room. Trying to ignore that hopeful look as it flashes repeatedly.   
  
You're halfway down the hall before you realize you never told him your name.   


~Finis~


End file.
